The return from winter break often serves as a barometer for national championship aspirations, and as Virginia squash returned to the courts in January, they were faced with two distinct tests — a home-game stand against Princeton, an Ivy League giant and a neutral-site clash in Northern Va., versus Tufts.
Jan. 10 at the McArthur Squash Center, the No. 4 Cavalier men's side (9-2, 0-0, ACC) dominated the No. 8 Tigers squad in a 7-2 victory that shattered years of Princeton dominance. And while the No. 6 Virginia women's side (7-3, 0-0, ACC) suffered a difficult 9-0 shutout against the top-tier Princeton squad at home, both teams found common ground a week later in Springfield, Va. Facing the No. 11 Jumbos on Jan. 17, the Cavaliers asserted their depth with a pair of 9-0 sweeps, proving that regardless of the opponent, Virginia has firmly entrenched itself among the nation's elite as the postseason approaches.
Men's Game 1 — Virginia 7, Princeton 2
Historically, Princeton (2-2, 0-0, Ivy League) has been able to black the Cavaliers, holding a lopsided 10-1 record in the all-time series before this season, including a bruising 8-1 defeat last February. However, Saturday's performance suggests that the gap between the two programs has not only closed, but reversed.
Virginia was able to seize control early as it raced to a 4-0 lead, beginning with sophomore Juan Jose Torres Lara in the No. 2 spot — keeping his individual season record perfect at 7-0 in a 3-game sweep.
The excitement was built up to peak with sophomore Nathan Rosenweig's five-game match against the Tigers’ sophomore Yuvraj Wadhwani in the No. 7 position. After seeing his two-game lead vanish to 2-2 at the end of the fourth game, Rosenzweig regained his footing for the tiebreaker — one of many performances that assistant coach Mark Broekman was happy to see.
"This was a team performance that showed that this year's team acquiring their highest CSA national ranking ever is no fluke,” said Broekman. “A brilliant team performance by all."
Women's Game 1 — Virginia 0, Princeton 9
While the men's side celebrated a milestone, the Cavalier women struggled to find a foothold as they faced a Princeton (4-1, 0-0, Ivy League) team that showcased the depth and precision of a national title contender. This loss keeps Princeton on a short list of teams — including Harvard and Trinity — that the Virginia women's program has yet to defeat in history.
Despite the shutout score, the match was defined by long rallies and several near-upsets. Junior Clare Minnis in the fourth position and sophomore Maryam Mian in the third position both pushed their opponents to the maximum five games. Their ability to stay competitive in extended rallies against the nation's elite is a marker of the program's strength, even though the score was unbalanced.
Although it was a hard loss, Coach Mark Allen is optimistic about the Cavaliers’ future matchups.
“This group of women … leaned in and embraced every one of the tough training sessions that we put them through,” Allen said. “I know they are going to work their socks off over the next few weeks to get back up to that same level of fitness so they can challenge the very best teams in the league in this championship half of the season."
Men's Game 2 — Virginia 9, Tufts 0
Coming off of its historic win over the Tigers, the Virginia men avoided any signs of letting that energy up. The Cavaliers dismantled the No. 11 Tufts men's team (7-4, 0-0, NESCAC) with a level of efficiency that left the Jumbos struggling for answers as Virginia dropped only a single game across the entire nine matches — its fourth sweep of the season.
The lone lost battle to Tufts came at spot No. 6, where the Cavaliers’ graduate student Maxwell Velazquez had the opening game stolen from him by the Jumbos’ senior Jared Chin 9-11. Velazquez quickly adjusted, reclaiming control to sweep the next three games to preserve his team's clean sheet.
Women's Game 2 — Virginia 9, Tufts 0
For the Virginia women, Saturday acted as a comeback — after being swept by Princeton last weekend, the Cavaliers responded by dishing out a sweep of their own against No. 11 Tufts (6-4, 0-0, NESCAC).
While the scoreboard read 9-0, one match in particular proved a marathon battle — the No. 3 position, where Minnis played the match of the day versus the Jumbos’ sophomore Anika Goyal in a tough back-and-forth affair meant to push their opponent to the brink of exhaustion. After splitting the first four games, Minnis was able to pull out a fifth-game tiebreaker and outlast Goyal for a 13-11 victory.
After a successful week, Virginia's focus now shifts to a Sunday doubleheader against a dangerous Drexel program, the No. 7 men and No. 9 women. Although there are more hurdles to clear, the men's victory over the Tigers served as a notice that they might be moving even further up the collegiate squash ladder, while the women's strong bounce-back performance against Tufts demonstrated a resilience necessary for a deep run in the postseason. With the Mid-Atlantic Squash Conference Championships returning to Charlottesville in February, the Cavaliers are no longer just a program on the rise — they have arrived and are ready to defend their home courts in the hunt for a national title.
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